When Tess Tremaine starts a new life in the colorful town of Goose Pimple Junction, curiosity leads her to look into a seventy-five-year-old murder. Suddenly she’s learning the foreign language of southern speak, resisting her attraction to local celebrity Jackson Wright, and dealing with more mayhem than she can handle.

A bank robbery, murder, and family tragedy from the 1930s are pieces of the mystery that Tess attempts to solve. As she gets close to the truth, she encounters danger, mystery, a lot of southern charm, and a new temptation for which she’s not sure she’s ready.

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Murder & Mayhem In Goose Pimple Junction ~ Book Review

“Well, gracious me! This book made my week! Excellent plot. This is a murder mystery (with romance and humor) I wouldn’t mind reading over and over again. It’s that good!” – Ara of My Book and My Coffee

“If things get any better, I may have to hire someone to help me enjoy it.” ;)

This is an advance copy given by the author to me in exchange for an honest review. Well, I’m so happy to know that this is just the first book in Goose Pimple Junction mysteries. This first book is just so grand, it makes me want to know the other mysteries and mayhem that are about to surface in Goose Pimple Junction ;)

Basically, the book is about the seventy-five-year-old unsolved murder. I was actually curious as to how they would solve such a thing. How would they know who dunnit? The killer or ‘perp’ is probably dead by now, or would be dead any day now. How can Tess (the protagonist in this book) solve the murder? Or is it even solvable? And will it still matter? How will we know the details from 1935? Anyway, these were the questions that went around my mind while preparing to read the novel. I was really excited and curious to see how it will all be presented.

And boy, I was not disappointed – not one bit, not one tee-nincey bit. ;)

As you know, I really can’t reveal anything here. I would love to as I want to share how good the book is, but I’ll leave it for your curious nose to find out! So, let’s talk about the different time settings. I'll call it that, yes. The author did a really good job in presenting two sets of time, the one from the 1930s and the present time (which is 2010 in the book). I was never ever confused on what’s going on, and what ‘time’ it happened. You’ll know what I mean. The author made sure that her readers are aware about the 1935 happenings, how it is and will be significant to the present time scenario, and how it will connect to the chapter they are at. It’s absolutely captivating. I am pointing this out as I’ve read some books before (way before I started blogging and reviewing) that tried to encompass different time settings in their book, but failed to do so, in my opinion, of course.

The southern humor. Oh goodness me, this book is full of that. It definitely made me laugh, not just once, but a lot of times. Oh, the punch lines. Yes, I’ll call them punch lines coz they are so funny. Let me share my scenario: I am reading a murder mystery novel in PDF form, so I am in front of my computer. But you’ll see me laughing my-you-know-what off. You see where I am going with this? I’m basically laughing, alone, in front of my computer. Weird? My two-year-old son just looks at me, and laughs as well. My smile is that contagious to him, I think. That or he is laughing at me for being weird at the time.

Seriously, there were a lot of times, while reading this book, that I found myself scared the first minute then laughing hard the next. And in some chapters, I was laughing then blushing as I find Tess and Jackson (love interest) to be soooo right for each other. You gotta love a book that can do these to you. Plus, I love, love a good mystery. So this book is definitely one of my favorites now.

About the mystery.Solving a seventy-five-year-old murder is not a piece of cake. And you’d think that no one will really care if someone is about to look into it, and try to solve it. Well, it’s going to be a bumpy ride for Tess. That’s all I can say.

When you’re reading mystery novel, you can’t help it but build your own conclusion even before the book reveals who really dunnit. I did just that, twice, and was wrong both times. Hah! So when you’re reading this book, you’ll think that you know who did it, but you may have to think again. Unless, of course, you had the gut feeling that it was [insert the crude’s name here]. Oh dear, can’t spill it out, really. ;)

So my dear viewers, readers and friends, if you love a good mystery novel with a dash of romance and a lot of humour (southern humor, that is), then I strongly recommend that you read this book. If you are not familiar with the ‘Southern-speak’ like me (I have heard a lot before though), you may find some of the terms / sentences a bit confusing at first, but that’s alright. As you read along, you'll find them easy to ‘decipher’. You’ll know what I mean. ;)

Rating: (My first ever 5-star rating!)

Book Trailer:Murder & Mayhem In Goose Pimple Junction by Amy Metz

About Amy Metz

Amy Metz is the mother of two sons and is a former first grade teacher. When not actively engaged in writing, enjoying her family, or spoiling her dog Cooper, and granddogs Gage and Arlo, Amy can usually be found with a mixing spoon, camera, or book in her hands. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky and can be reached at amymetz.com.

Your blog is really looking lovely and it is SO easy to navigate which is such a big thing for me. So great job on creating such a beautiful blog!

Thanks for the great review on Murder and Mayhem! It is not something I would normally read, but that is why I love checking out everyone's blog! Books that I would normally not check out somehow become interesting when someone else brings it to my attention. So thank you for that!

Also, just to let you know, I finally posted my new guest blogger's (Frank!) review of the movie SAVAGES. Did you know it was based off of a book? I think I need to read and review the book to see how it compares to the movie. Anyway, his review can be read HERE if you feel like checking it out!